Madison County voting on $18 million county jail renovations

(KMOV) – The Madison County Board on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on an important issue that will affect county taxpayers.

The board is likely to approve spending $18 million to renovate the county jail. If passes, it’s estimated it’ll cost about 20 years to pay off the debt.

County Board Chair Alan Dunstan told News 4 the updates are needed because the jail is housing more inmates than it was built for.

“I think if we honestly put it up for referendum, there’s a good chance it would fail,” said Dunstan. “But when you’re an elected official, sometimes you have to make decisions that’s best for everyone. I would say all 29 board members believe the project has to be done.

There’s still a chance the project could go to voters in a referendum. For that to happen, 10 percent of Madison County voters would have to sign a petition.